10 Lives – Film Review

10 Lives is an animated film, directed by Christopher Jenkins, written by Ash Brannon and Ken Cinnamon, about a cat named Beckett who is stuck in a cycle of reincarnation as he tries to find his way home.

The movie first starts introducing us to Beckett (Mo Gilligan) with a scene from later in the film, he’s currently a horse and in the middle of a chase! With this initial taste for the action in the later story, we are then taken back to around the start of Beckett’s life as an abandoned kitten, just before he meets Rose (Simone Ashley). We’re barely minutes into the film and my empathy for this adorable kitten is already off the charts.

Rose of course adopts Beckett, and he lives a pampered and careless life. Perhaps a little too careless. When Rose’s ex-boyfriend Larry (Dylan Llewellyn) returns to help her with her research on honeybees, Beckett is filled with jealousy and keeps trying to sabotage them from getting too close. This backfires on Beckett and he unexpectedly finds himself in heaven, with his 9 lives all used up. However, when Beckett expresses his regrets of not being able to show Rose how much he loved her, he is given another chance at life but there is of course a catch, he cannot return as a cat!

As the cycle of reincarnation gives Beckett a list of silly animals that make it extremely difficult for him to reconnect with Rose, the sinister villain lurking in the background of her life begins to rise up. Beckett’s goal of simply going home to Rose begins to switch and he must focus on saving her research from being destroyed.

The animation in the film is smooth and has a traditional cartoon feel to it with large eyes and “rubberhose” style to the limbs. My minor criticisms would be that fur textures and the human characters’ hair tends not to have much movement in it and can feel a bit stiff. This is often something overlooked in 3D animation and probably not noticeable to the untrained eye. It certainly won’t impact your enjoyment of the movie as there are plenty of other things moving and animated well.

With a bright colour palette that gives off a cheery vibe and its fair share of slapstick humour, 10 Lives is on its surface is a funny kids movie, but under the hood there are quite a lot of heartfelt moments. As a cat owner and animal lover in general, I really felt the emotional themes of this movie deeply. I cried so many times as the story touched on ideas of abandonment, loss, separation, death and regrets. But most importantly, the value of love and selflessly showing that to the people (and cats!) that you care for.

Overall, I had a great time watching 10 Lives, it certainly gave my emotions a rollercoaster ride as I’d go from smirking at below the belt humour in one scene, to then crying at the next. I’m admittedly a big softie for cute animals that just want to be loved. If you enjoy the typical antics of animated characters with a sweet story that will warm your heart, then 10 Lives will scratch that itch.

10 Lives is in cinemas now.

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